Peanut butter has been a staple in cupboards since the last turn of the century, providing the world with mouth-watering pleasure for over 100 years. January 24 is National Peanut Butter Day and a perfect excuse for nurses to share the passion for peanutty goodness with everyone in their path.

What nurse doesn’t like a tasty treat in the middle of a shift? All of these are easy to make, and perfectly sized for a quick bite in between patient visits:

Nightshift Peanut Butter Bites

In just half an hour, you can make 20 tasty treats that double as an energy booster.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of Natural Peanut Butter

1/4 cup of Honey

2 tablespoons of Coffee Grounds

1 cup of Rolled Oats

2 ounces of Semisweet Chocolate chopped into small bits

2 ounces of White Chocolate chopped into small bits

Start by mixing together the peanut butter, honey and coffee grounds in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and let chill in the fridge for half an hour. Now easy to work with, you can roll about 20 balls using your delish dough.

Classic Peanut Butter Bars

Peanut butter without jelly is like a nurse without her stethoscope. These take about an hour to put together and will make 16 of your favorite nurses very happy.

Ingredients

Butter or oil to grease your pan

3 cups of Rolled Oats (or you can substitute one of the cups for a cup of Rice Crispies for crunch value)

1/2 cup of Peanut Butter

1/2 cup of Jelly (your bars, you choose the flavor)

1/2 cup of hot water

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Get your oven going at 350 degrees and grease an 8×11 inch baking pan. In a small pot over low heat, mix the Peanut Butter and half of the Jelly with the water and salt. It should only take about two minutes to get smooth. Pour your oats into a large bowl and then your PB&J mixture over it, mixing until you have a sticky mass. Smooth that into the baking pan evenly and spread the other half of the jelly over the top. Slide the pan into the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the edges are brown. Pull them out and let cool before cutting into bite sized bars for your nursing buddies.

For more flavor you can add chunks of chocolate or flakes of coconut to your bars.

Tasty Teeth for Kids

Nurses who work in pediatrics can use the day as cause for celebration, and an excuse to teach healthy oral hygiene habits. This fun peanut butter treat takes just 20 minutes to make, and with only three ingredients can be done in between rounds.

Ingredients (amount of each will depend on how many mouths you are planning to feed)

Apples

Peanut Butter

Mini Marshmallows

This is almost too easy. Cut your apple into one inch slices. Now take two and spread a layer of peanut butter along one side of each. Put those two sides together to resemble a mouth, and then add the mini marshmallows in the middle for the teeth. The inner edge can be pressed together so that the sticky peanut butter holds the apple mouth closed in place.

Oh, Sweet Balls of Peanut Butter

The peanut butter dessert to die for, these sweet balls will only take you about 25 minutes to make, but will provide nurses with a shift full of pleasure.

Ingredients

1 cup of large flake Rolled Oats

1/2 cup of Peanut Butter

1/2 cup of Honey

1/3 cup of unsweetened Shredded Coconut – toasted

1/3 cup of Macadamia Nuts – chopped

3 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon

Blend together all of your ingredients and roll them out into 20 balls. Let them chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes and they are ready to soothe your sweet toothed nursing pals.

Any excuse is a good one to bring some snacks to share to work, and with peanut butter at the center, you are sure to be on everyone’s short list of favorite nurses to work with.